A petition has been filed seeking formal charges against 41 accused, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former army chief Aziz Ahmed, in the case of crimes against humanity filed over the killings surrounding a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on May 5, 2013.
Chief Prosecutor Md. Aminul Islam submitted the petition to the International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Thursday. In the application for framing charges, he stated that a heinous massacre was carried out in the name of an operation at Shapla Chattar in 2013, and that the accused in this case committed crimes against humanity there.
Allegations of Cover-Up
The chief prosecutor further alleged that the then government exerted pressure on the media to conceal the crimes against humanity committed at the site. He also raised the question of whether such inhumane incidents had occurred even during 1971.During the hearing, the chief prosecutor said two charges have been brought against the accused in this case. Details of the first charge were mentioned in the application, but the nature of the second charge was not immediately clarified.
The tribunal is expected to set a date for the next hearing after accepting the petition. The full list of the 41 accused, beyond Sheikh Hasina and Aziz Ahmed, has not yet been officially confirmed.
